Showing 1-24 of 78 items found in Arts & Culture

The town of Arthur is located in the heart of Amish country, home to more than 2,000 Amish residents and hundreds of charming countryside businesses, Illinois' Amish Country offers shopping, dining, special events and guided educational tours (some of which feature meals in actual Amish homes).

A step on guide will accompany your tour of the Amish countryside. The tours will also include meals in Amish homes, and Amish home, buggy shop, dairy farm and woodworking tours. Additional highlights include an Amish museum, local attractions, restaurants, and accommodations.

Allerton Park was the private estate of Robert Henry Allerton, who donated it to the University of Illinois in 1946. It features 1,500 acres of woodlands, formal gardens and more than 100 sculptures. The park is open to the public for hiking, picnicking, cross-country skiing and leisurely garden strolls.

Discover the universe at the second largest planetarium in Illinois, the William M. Staerkel Planetarium, located on the campus of Parkland College. With a state-of-the-art digital projection system, visitors can learn about the stars, planets and more in this cutting-edge environment. At the planetarium website, you will learn of special programs and features coinciding with the many events in our universe. Public shows are on most Friday and Saturday nights, as well as summer matinees.

ACM Tours is a full service, receptive tour guide company with many special services available at no additional cost. We literally open the door to fabulous Illinois Amish Country! We are ready to assist you with meals, attractions, lodging and step on guide service. We have available trained, professional, local step-on guides who are well versed in the history, customs and folklore of this most unique part of Illinois.

Located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, Krannert Art Museum is the second-largest fine art museum in Illinois—placing it among the top tier of university art museums nationwide. The museum’s diverse permanent collection contains over 10,000 works of art, and represents the cultures of African, Asia, Europe and the Americas. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum features outstanding temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

Japan House offers the public an opportunity to learn about traditional Japanese culture through tea ceremonies, workshops and special events through the year. The beautiful Japan House gardens are open from dawn to dusk for you to stroll through and enjoy. The Japan House closes during the summer. Call for information on tea ceremonies and tours.

The University of Illinois Arboretum is a living laboratory, including plant collections and facilities that support the teaching, research and public service programs of several units throughout campus. Central to the Arboretum was the development of the "All American Selection Trial Gardens" established by a bequest from Miles C. Hartley in the early 90s. Other highlights of the Arboretum include the Welcome Garden, Hosta Garden, Kari Walkway and native ponds plantings, the Idea Garden, sponsored by Champaign County Master Gardeners, and the Japanese Tea and Dry Gardens at the Japan House.

Amish Adventures will give you an up close and personal tour of the Illinois Amish culture and religion as you travel back in time along our quaint country roads with our professional and informed tour guide. To help our visitors learn more about the Amish culture, we offer a variety of tours that are customized to fit your itinerary. Tours of Amish homes, Amish farms, Amish woodworker's shop, a meal in an Amish home and a Step-on Guided Tour of the Amish countryside!

What Lincoln Center is to New Yourk and Kennedy Center is to Washington D.C., Krannert Center is to the Midwest—a magnificent showcase for the performing arts. KCPA is a premier educational and professional performing arts complex and is the setting for over 300 performances each year. A professional laboratory for the University of Illinois dance, theatre, opera and music departments, the Center also hosts internationally famous artists such as Emmy Lou Harris, Herbie Hancock, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mark Morris Dance Group, and is home to the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and Sinfonia de Camera.

The State Farm Center™, formerly the University of Illinois Assembly Hall, is one of the two largest edge-supported domes in the world. More than half a million people annually attend events at the center. The 16,000 plus seat venue regularly accommodates Broadway shows, musicals and major concert performers.

The University of Illinois Pollinitarium is the first free-standing science center in the nation devoted to flowering plants and their pollinators. Its location in the midst of the Arboretum brings together flowers and pollinators physically and conceptually. Changing exhibits relate to world events and ongoing research on pollinators. Guests can explore beekeeping equipment, see live demonstrations and play interactive games. Because so much depends on pollination, the UI Pollinatarium is dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of pollination as a remarkable ecological partnership and an essential ecosystem service.

Since its inception in 2002, Prairie Fire Glass has delighted visitors with the mesmerizing art of traditional glassblowing. Featuring a gallery in the front of the store and a working studio in the back, you can peruse original art glass creations while enjoying live glassblowing demonstrations.

The Wandell Sculpture Garden was established in honor of Willett and Celia Wandell in 1998. This unique, free outdoor sculpture garden sits among 22 acres of recreated Illinois tallgrass prairie in 130-acre Meadowbrook Park. While walking the looped paths, one can encounter bikers, joggers and other sculpture lovers as the park serves both recreational and educational purposes. Works from local artists with ties to the University of Illinois grace the garden, as well as pieces from artists who reside in New York, California and New Mexico. The garden has both permanent sculptures and some that are rotated every second or third year, keeping it fresh for visitors. Open daily from dawn to dusk.

Recently relocated to Rockome Gardens in the countryside near a prominent community of Old Order Amish, the largest in Illinois. The museum originally opened in 1996 and features exhibits on most aspects of Amish life, as well as an introductory video about the Central Illinois Amish. Through the museum, tours can be scheduled of the Amish countryside, Amish homes, farms, businesses and meals in Amish homes.

Since 1921, The Virginia Theater has been a landmark in the business district of Champaign and in the history of the region. For 75 years, the 1,525 seat theater has offered entertainment as a vaudeville house, legitimate theater, and movie house. The historic theater plays host to Roger Ebert’s Ebertfest Film Festival every spring.

Fine art located in the heart of the Illinois Amish country. The Villa Galleries has dedicated its gallery to local artists who have ties to the central Illinois area either through living situation or artwork subject. Photography, watercolors, colored pencil, oil and acrylic, stained glass, and pottery are just a few of the mediums featured in the gallery.

The landmark Busey’s Hall/Princess Theater in downtown Urbana is home to Cinema Gallery, representing over 50 professional artists of the Midwest. Media on display are ceramics, drawings, glass, mixed media, paintings, sculpture, and studio furniture. The gallery also hosts 7 special shows each year.

The Art Theater is located in the heart of Downtown Champaign and has been entertaining moviegoers since 1913. A true historical fixture, the Art Theater screens independent films and serves up locally grown popcorn, baked goods from local bakeries and a great selection of wines, beers, soda and more!

The University of Illinois is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement. It's distinguished by the breadth of their programs, broad academic excellence and internationally renowned faculty. This Big Ten school offers rich experiences beyond the classroom from the best in performing arts to world-class sports. Discover the scenic campus through tours of the historic buildings and those that are pushing the envelope in technology.